Magic
by ProwlingWhiteTigress
Summary: Rae is just an ordinary girl from the Ward... or so everyone thinks. But what happens when she chooses to be a part of the Ranger Corps, and meets someone from her past? And, why does she seem so... strange? Not like other female ranger stories. Discontinued, sorry.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Okay, so, nothing you recognise in this story belongs to me.**

It was a beautiful morning in Redmont Fief, with a clear blue sky that had no clouds in it. I was the first awake, as usual. I sat down in the place I always went to when I woke up, on the uppermost branch in the huge oak tree that stood outside the ward in Redmont. I enjoyed the feel of the sun on my face for a few minutes, then climbed back down the tree to tend to my horse, Midnight.

**Edit: I'm just going through this and getting rid of the A/N's (seriously, what was I thinking when I typed those?) and making it so that the chapters aren't just huge blocks of writing. Sorry, but I don't really have the inspiration to rewrite this thing.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Once is very likely enough, but oh well. Nothing you recognise belongs to me.**

Hi. My name's Raven, Rae for short. I'm fifteen years old and I was placed in the Ward at Redmont when I was five years old. One of the earliest memories I still have is my learning to blend into my surroundings, riding, shooting arrows, throwing and using knives, and learning a bit of the sword.

I have five other ward mates. Will, Alyss, Jenny, Horace and George. I believe I also mentioned Midnight, my horse. The colour of her coat is pitch black, like my hair. The Baron once told me she was a Ranger horse. So if she is one, I have no idea how I got her. Oh, and she also has a passcode to let people ride her (Baron Arald also told me that that was exactly like Ranger horses are trained). Her passcode is 'starry, starry night'. I only ever had to say the passcode once, and then she remembered. Everyone else she bucks off (which is pretty funny to watch).

*sigh* Well, tomorrow's the Choosing. It's where we each get accepted into a guild-type thing: there's Battleschool, Horseschool, Scribeschool, Chefschool*, and the Diplomatic Service (there are a few others, like Armouring and Blacksmithing, but, oh, well). Which leaves one thing; the Ranger Corps.

Now, _everyone_ says that rangers are sorcerers. I really doubt that they are. I mean, if they were sorcerers, they wouldn't really need to use their bows and stuff, now would they? They'd just use their magic to kill off the enemy, instead of shooting them. Not to mention they wouldn't get wounded, either, and if they did, they could probably heal themselves. Anyways, back to the Choosing. If a ranger is there, I'm most certainly going to request to be a ranger (I know I'm a girl, but so what? Girls can be just as good as boys, if not better, in some aspects). If I don't get accepted as an apprentice of a ranger, or if there simply is not one present to take an apprentice, I will request to be a Courier.

Hmmm… I heard something… From the boy's dorm... Will must be awake. Midnight whickered softly at me. "Sorry, girl." I apologised for stopping her grooming. "Just thinking, Midnight, just thinking." Midnight swung her head around to look at me. Now, I have a secret that absolutely no one knows. I can talk to animals. Among other things.

Midnight snorted and said: _It's all right, it's normal to be nervous, after all it is the Choosing tomorrow. Anyways, come on! My coat isn't going to get clean if you just stand there thinking! It'll take all day! _I couldn't help but let out a peal of laughter at the last few sentences Midnight had said. I finished grooming her, chuckling slightly as I did so, and she nudged my shoulder. _There, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?_ I grinned and hugged her. Then I gave her an apple. She nudged me. _Can I have another apple, please, Rae? _Midnight asked. "No, Midnight, I'm going to ask the housekeeper if we can go out for a ride. I don't want you getting cramps." Midnight sighed in disappointment. _Well then, can I have another apple after our ride?_ I laughed again. "Of course you can, Midnight. Why wouldn't I let you have another apple?" _I don't really know…_ Midnight mused. "Alright, then," I said, "I'll go ask Mya** if we can go for a ride." Midnight whinnied happily. She always loved going on rides.

As I left the stable to see Mya (she always tells us to call her auntie), I stuck to the shadows and wove myself into them unconsciously. Not even the guards outside the Baron's tower noticed me, and I was basically in plain sight. I shook my head with a sigh, then moved on. When I reached Auntie Mya's room in the Ward (she chose to live here permanently so she could take care of us), I stopped and listened for a moment. I heard her moving around inside, so I knocked politely and waited for a minute. I heard her call "come in" so I opened the door and entered.

"Ah, Rae! It's you!" Mya said cheerfully. "So, what is it that you'd like, Raven, dear?". "Auntie Mya," I began, "I was just wondering, could Midnight and I go out for a ride, please?". "Of course, dear," she replied, "now, shoo! I'm sure Midnight's eager to go, and you must be too!". "Thank-you, Auntie Mya!" I chirped, and hugged her. Then I raced out her door, down the stairs and out the door, heading straight to the stables. _I take it she said yes?_ Midnight whinnied in excitement. _She did!_ I replied*** I ignored the tack room, as we both preferred riding without a saddle or bridle, then lead her, jogging to warm the both of us up a bit, to the gates.

When we reached the guards there, they recognised Midnight and I in an instant (we went out for rides quite often), and they opened the gates for us. I thanked them, then leapt onto Midnight and we rode off to the forest, our favourite place to go. As Midnight cantered steadily along, I stood up on her back, easily keeping my balance, as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the wind on my face.

***I didn't know what to call it, sorry.**

****Mya is the housekeeper.**

*****I forgot to mention, Rae can talk to animals just by using her thoughts, too.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: …**

Midnight started slowing down and I realised that we had reached the forest. I sat back down, knowing from experience that if I stayed standing, I'd get knocked off by a low-hanging branch. Midnight knew the way, so I just sat and relaxed. When we reached the creek, I dismounted and Midnight started grazing. I climbed up a tree and sat there for a little while, looking around at the scenery. I then settled down to take a nap.

I was woken by Midnight's neigh. I sat up, yawning slightly, and looked up to see what the time was. It was already nine o'clock in the morning. I climbed back down the tree swiftly and silently, then I hopped onto Midnight's back and we were off. When we were out of the forest, again I stood up on Midnight's back. As soon as we were in sight of the gate, I dropped back down. The guards let us in almost immediately (because we had to stop so that they could recognise us). We quickly made our way towards the Ward. As soon as we reached the stable, I hopped off Midnight, lead her in to her stall, and started grooming her again. When I was done, I gave her another apple.

_Thanks, Rae._ Said Midnight. _That was a really nice ride._She looked at me curiously._ You know, you don't really stand up often on our rides. Why?_ She asked._ Well, Midnight, most of the time I'm just enjoying being with you on a ride, and I just don't think about standing up._ I replied. She stood there for a moment, contemplating that fact. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the nose, and then I walked to the Ward, to my rooms, so I could get changed. If I didn't then Auntie Mya would get upset, and besides, everyone would just complain of the smell. Really, I don't know what they're talking about. Horses smell really nice. Although, I suppose it's just a matter of opinion... that and I've been around horses for ages, so I've probably just gotten really used to them.


	4. Chapter 3

**Just as a warning, characters from John Flanagan will be extremely OOC in this fanfic.**

**Disclaimer: Am I male? Is John Flanagan a teen? I think not.**

It was the Choosing Day. Again, I woke up the earliest. But this time I didn't go to the oak tree. I simply got changed and sat on my bed for a moment. Then when I heard other people stirring, I decided I'd help the kitchen staff with breakfast: after all, I used to go to the kitchens heaps, and eventually learned how to cook. I knew I could take that path, but I also knew that I wouldn't be fully content there.

Anyways, I went downstairs. The kitchen staff greeted me warmly, I had helped heaps in the past, and they knew I'd gotten good at cooking and that I'd cheer everyone up if anyone was grumpy or sad, or just not in a good mood. So I set to work with the task I was assigned to and started cheering everyone up. Soon they were laughing along with my jokes and started to join the light banter I had started with one of the maids. When we finished making breakfast, I helped carry it out to the table, too. There were pancakes, muffins, sausages, bacon, eggs, toast, and of course, freshly squeezed orange juice.

Everyone else started to come down when they smelled the food. I took a plate and picked some out. I chose some sausages, bacon, and eggs with a slice of toast. Then I got a cup of orange juice and began to eat. Will came down just as I finished. He looked even more nervous than he had last night, if that was even possible. I smiled at him and filled a plate for him with his favourites. When I handed his plate to him he mumbled his thanks and started eating. I looked on in approval. Sure, he was still really nervous, but he could actually eat this morning, unlike last night. Horace came down soon after. I loaded a plate for him and gave it to him and he tucked into it immediately. When everyone else came down I filled their plates, too, and they all ate.

When I was sure that everyone had eaten their fill, I started to clean up when Angelina, one of the maids, stopped me with a hand on my arm, and said quietly "No, Rae, today's your second last day in the Ward. We'll do the cleaning up. You go off and do your own thing." I smiled softly at her and murmured my thanks, then slipped outside. I headed towards the huge oak tree and paused, sensing a pair of eyes watching me. I looked around, scanning the area, making it look casual but actually taking in a lot of information. I finally saw the cloaked figure on my third sweep. A ranger. I ignored him, pretending that I hadn't seen anyone, and quickly climbed up the tree.

Soon after, I was joined by Will. I wasn't surprised. He loved heights and climbing just as much as I did, not to mention he always came here after he got into a fight with Horace, or was upset. Funny how people never thought to look up. I just watched him silently and hid silently in the shadows, a small smile on my face. When he was on the same branch as I was, and his back was turned towards me, I crept up behind him. "Got into another fight, Will?" I asked, amused as I saw him jump. He whipped around, then relaxed when he saw it was me. He nodded slightly and stretched, then winced as he found some of new sores on his body. I looked at his wounds critically, and decided that I would heal him, seeing as it was Choosing Day, and no-one wanted to look bad on Choosing Day, for goodness' sake.

So I stepped closer to him, placed my hand on his arm, and closed my eyes in concentration. I felt the magic rush through me, and Will gasped, shocked. In a minute his wounds were healed, and I opened my eyes. Will was gaping at me, eyes wide and jaw hanging wide open. "H…h…how did you do that?" Will gasped. I didn't answer. "How did you do it?" he pressed. I sighed and turned away, ignoring him. Even though I we were at the very top of the tree, I jumped straight down. I didn't want to climb down, as Will would just follow me and pester me to answer him. I landed lightly on both feet, and walked straight to the stable. Midnight whinnied, slightly annoyed, at me.

_Did you have to heal him, Rae?_ She asked. I sighed again and explained. _Will was really beaten up this time, unlike every other time he's had a fight with Horace. _I said. _Besides, today's Choosing Day. Not to mention no-one should ever really look beaten up, especially today. All of the Craftmasters will consider him as a troublemaker if he arrives in the Baron's study today looking battered and bruised._ This time it was Midnight who sighed. _Still, you shouldn't have revealed your powers like that. What if Will let's slip what happened?_ I looked Midnight steadily in the eye._Whatever happens, happens._ I said firmly, and started to groom her. _No arguing, please._ Midnight snorted, but agreed, albeit reluctantly. I finished grooming her, said that I'd take her out for another ride after the Choosing, and hurried to get changed and ready for it.


	5. Chapter 4

**Ahem. Well, Halt is going to be a bit (okay, majorly) OOC in this fanfic. Just a warning.**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.**

Halt's POV:

I watched, interested, as I saw the girl run out to the huge oak tree outside the Ward. She stopped for a moment, and to any other looker-on, she only seemed to be looking around casually, while I realised that she was scanning the area. Apparently she knew someone was watching her. This girl was good. Suddenly, she looked straight at me. I tensed slightly, wondering if the girl had actually seen me. She looked away again, and I dismissed the thought. There was no way she could've seen me. No-one could, especially without training, which of course she didn't have. I remembered what Crowley had said at the last Gathering.

_**Flashback:**_

_Halt and every other ranger stared at Crowley, slowly digesting what he had said. Girls? In the Ranger Corps? Crowley had to be kidding; there was no way he could be serious about this. But as Halt looked at his face, he realised that this was the case. Crowley wanted some girls in the Ranger Corps. Crowley turned to Halt. "At this moment, I only want one girl in the Corps, to see what it's like. Halt, would you take the task of selecting and training a female from Redmont? Of course, she has to have the right potential, and, if possible, some skills that she has already acquired." Halt thought this over for a moment. Training a female might be difficult, or it might be simple, depending on her attitude, mental fitness, and physical fitness. Then he decided that he would. "Yes, Crowley, I accept the task." All of the other rangers gasped. There had never been a female in the Corps before, and now, all of a sudden, their Commandant wanted females (well, one female at the moment), in the Corps?_

_**End Flashback.**_

So here I am, I thought. After a month, I spotted this girl, Raven, or 'Rae', as she liked to be called, and started watching her, but only once every fortnight, as I had had business to attend to. She was interesting, and already she seemed to have at least two skills a ranger needed down: walking or running silently, and blending into her surroundings. I looked at her again. She had now been joined by the young boy, Will. I watched as the boy climbed up the tree. I nodded in appreciation as I saw how silent and still she was being as Will climbed up to the same branch as her. I watched as Rae startled Will by creeping up to him and talking to him when she was right behind him.

The boy stretched and I saw that his body was slightly bruised and looked a bit battered. Then the girl caught my eye again. She had placed her hand on the boys arm and closed her eyes, seemingly concentrating on something. What was she doing? I was curious and I watched intently as… I saw the boy's wounds heal completely? The boy gasped as he saw what was happening to his injuries, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open. After a minute or so, her eyes opened and Rae studied the boy's expression. I saw Will's mouth form words, presumably a question, and the girl ignored him.

Will asked again, and still Rae ignored him. Instead, she simply jumped out of the tree. I almost gasped out loud, but at the last moment I stopped myself. I watched, eyes widened slightly, as Rae landed on both of her feet. Not to mention she did it without making a sound! I could barely believe my own eyes as she stood up straight and walked steadily to the stables. I thought I had heard a whinny, but I decided to ignore it. She must have requested that she learned to ride, and Arald must have granted her request. I saw a movement in the corner of my eye and saw that Will was now climbing back down the tree that Rae had simply jumped out of. I sighed as I looked towards the stables again. Obviously, Rae wasn't going to come out for a while. So I left, going to Arald's study to watch him and wait for the Choosing.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Check list: not a male, not an adult, not a proper author… oh, so I'm definitely not John Flanagan, then!**

**Also, some parts of this story will be taken from the book. Probably should have mentioned that earlier...**

Rae's POV:

In the Baron's study, everyone looked around nervously. Even Horace. We were made to stand in line, in order from tallest to smallest. Horace, of course, was first, then Alyss, George, Jenny, me, and then Will. After the Baron himself had come in, Martin, Baron Arald's secretary, asked the Craftmasters to come in. As he did so, I felt the same pair of eyes on me as before. I turned to look at him, and saw that the ranger… what was it again? Oh, yes, that's right. The ranger Halt was standing behind the Baron's chair. I looked into his eyes and he seemed surprised that I didn't flinch when I saw him. Well, really, he seemed surprised that I managed to see him at all. I looked away and concentrated on the Baron. The Choosing had begun.

"You, boy," said Martin, "What's your name?" Horace hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward. "Horace Altman, my lord." He said nervously. "Do you have a particular preference, Horace?" asked the Baron. "Battleschool, Sir!" Horace said. The Baron nodded, then Sir Rodney assessed Horace. The knight walked out of the line of Craftmasters and started to walk around Horace, looking at his build and stature. Horace's head started to turn with him, until Sir Rodney ordered him to stay still. When he finished his evaluation, he nodded and accepted him. Horace grinned, and grinned even further when the Baron told him to report to Battleschool at eight o'clock sharp the next morning.

Alyss was called up next, she requested to be in the Diplomatic Service, and was accepted, especially since Lady Pauline had already talked to her about it. Then George and Jenny were called. Each of them, respectively, went into Scribeschool and Chefschool. Then I was called. I stepped up to the Baron's desk and spoke when Martin demanded my name. "Raven, my lord" I said calmly. Martin was looking frantic. "What's your surname, girl?" he hissed. I looked at Martin steadily and said, "I don't have a surname". A few of the Craftmasters cracked a slight smile at that. They knew Martin hated to be spoken to like that. Martin now looked frustrated, even more frantic, and annoyed at me.

"It's alright, Martin," Baron Arald said gently, "These last two are special cases." Then he turned to me. "Do you have a preference, Raven?" He asked me calmly. I looked up and said in a clear and strong voice, "Ranger Corps, my lord." All of the Craftmasters looked shocked, but recovered relatively quickly. The Baron looked shocked as well, but he recovered as well and said, "Raven, Ranger Halt isn't here today. I don't think that he is ready to take on another apprentice yet." I shook my head. "My lord, didn't he tell you? He's right behind your chair." I stated. The ranger came out of the shadows, and the Baron jumped as he spoke. "Accepted," he said calmly, "She'll make an excellent ranger." The Baron looked miffed and flabbergasted. Admittedly, so did all the other Craftmasters, and Will.

"All… all right, then." The Baron stuttered slightly. The ranger looked at me. "Well, then, report to my cabin at six o'clock sharp." He said gruffly. I nodded and went out the room. On my way, I stopped by Will and murmured a few reassuring words, giving him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. Then I walked out of Baron Arald's study without a second glance, head held high and confident.


	7. Chapter 6

**More major x infinity OOC-ness from Halt!**

**Disclaimer: Hey there! Ranger's Apprentice is not owned in any way, shape or form by me, but it is by John Flanagan.**

It was night. I heard someone slip out the door and go to the side of the Baron's tower. I sighed. Why did Will have to do this? Then I remembered. He had come in looking dejected after the Choosing, and wouldn't join in the light-hearted horseplay everyone was engaged in (I, myself, was talking to Midnight, of course). So I jumped out of my window, not making a sound, and went over to Will. "Do you want some help, Will?" I whispered. He almost jumped, but at the last moment he realised it was me. "Oh, um, y…yes, p…please, Rae." He stammered quietly. "So, what's the plan?" I said. "Well, I was going to climb up the Baron's wall, sneak inside, and get that slip of paper." He replied.

I tilted my head in curiousity. "What piece of paper?" I asked. "Oh, um, the ranger slipped a piece of paper to the Baron." answered Will. "Ok, then, I'll come with you." I said. He agreed, somewhat reluctantly, and we began. We made our way over to the wall as soon as the sentry wasn't there, and started to climb. Well, Will did, but I just stayed back and when I was sure that he wouldn't be spotted by the sentry, I simply jumped up to the top of the ledge and perched there. When he was up, too, I slipped inside and, as I did so, I saw a shadow. Halt. I decided to let Will find out himself, so I signalled to Will and he came in. Will reached for the piece of paper on the Baron's desk. A hand on his arm stopped him. "What do you think you're doing?" Halt hissed. "I…I'm trying to…" I intervened, as Will stuttered and tried to find a way to explain what he was doing.

"I heard Will sneaking out to come here and take a look at that," I gestured towards the paper, "piece of paper, so I came out and asked if he wanted help. Will agreed, so I came in with him." I explained calmly. Will was now looking thoroughly confused. "But," he began, "how did you… how did you hear me?" I winced slightly. Halt noticed and he looked intrigued… great, now my powers were going to have to be explained to two people. I might as well reveal myself to the whole world. Though, I mused, that might just happen, seeing as I'm going to be a ranger, and who knows what I'll do? Hmmm… I might just do a bit of scrying on that subject… Halt interrupted my train of thoughts. Hmph. I must have gotten lost in thought again. That happens far too often for my liking.

"Are you all right, Raven?" he asked, only the slightest bit uncertain. "Hmmm… oh? Oh, yes, sorry sir," I said, "I was just thinking about something…". Halt looked impatient now. "Well, is what you're thinking about important?" he replied. I huffed. "Of course it is. If it wasn't I wouldn't be thinking about right now. I'm an apprentice, I'm not ready to think, am I? Well, not on matters that I don't know much about, but still!" I retorted. Now he looked shocked. "H…how d…do you know that saying?" he stammered. A corner of my lip curled slightly in amusement, but I shrugged. "I don't know." I replied honestly. "But I just remember it. I knew it before I came to the Ward."

Now Halt looked intrigued. _She's a bit of a mystery, that girl is._ I nearly jumped out of my skin, I was that shocked, and then I realised what had happened. I had accidently listened in on Halt's thoughts! My traitorous mouth had spoken before I could close it, though. "You really think I'm a mystery, Halt?" I asked in an amused tone, before I could slap my hand over my thrice-damned mouth. Halt gaped at me, before hurriedly closing his mouth and focusing his attention back on the matter we first had at hand. "So, what are we going to do about you two?" he said. I listened intently. There was someone breathing and moving about slightly in the Baron's sitting room. The Baron himself must be awake.

"The Baron's awake, isn't he?" I asked, relatively cheerfully. "He's going to talk to Will about what he's going to be." Now Halt looked… what was the word/s for that look? Hmmm… really shocked? No, definitely not it… super shocked x 1 000 000? No, that's not it either… hey, how about… super-duper shocked x infinity? Yeah, that's about it. Ever so slowly, Halt nodded. Then he managed to school his face back into its' normal expression. Grimness*****. "And while Will's talking to Baron Arald, you're going to talk with me." He said. I nodded.

Halt leaned against the wall. "So, what's with all this strangeness going on around you?" he asked gruffly, narrowing his eyes slightly. I fidgeted and looked at the ground. "Well?" Halt said, narrowing his eyes even further. "Well, Halt," I said, "I can't really tell you right now." I looked around nervously. I didn't want to talk, because anyone could hear. "Why not?" Halt asked, clearly starting to become annoyed. "Because right now anyone could hear us," I explained, "and I really don't want that to happen. Can we talk about it tomorrow, in your cabin?"

I ended on a half pleading note. He nodded. Then sighed. "Well, I guess you had better go back to the Ward to get some sleep. You do have to be up early. Remember, 6 o'clock. No later." Said Halt. Then I had an idea. "Halt, what time do you wake up?" "Dawn." He replied. I bit my lip. "Could I come to your cabin around that time? Then we have plenty of time to discuss my 'strangeness', as you call it." He nodded again. Then he went down the stairs, but not before melting into the shadows. I could still see him, but only just.

I slid into the Baron's study once again. I didn't feel like using the stairs. I walked silently to the window, and after a glance left, right, up and down, I jumped out of the window and landed silently on the balls of my feet.

***Is that even a word? I honestly have no idea, but my spellcheck hasn't complained, so I guess it's all right.**


End file.
